Lyndsey Clark
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — After two weeks of long bus rides and cold shooting, the Wittenberg Tigers found the friendly confines of Pam Evans Smith Arena much more to their liking in an 80-65 victory over Earlham.
The win in the their 2011-12 home opener moved the Tigers to 2-3 on the young season, heading into their North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) lid-lifter against Oberlin on Saturday, also at home. Former NCAC foe Earlham fell to 2-3.
The Quakers led for most of the game's first six minutes before a jumper by Wittenberg senior Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) at the 13:23 mark broke a 12-12 tie. Wittenberg led the rest of the way, breaking the game open with a 25-13 run over the final 9:27 after Earlham had closed to within two points at 22-20.
The Quakers could pull no closer than 10 points in the second half as the balanced Tigers followed up on their 68 percent shooting in the first half with 42 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes. The difference was Earlham's inability to keep up offensively as the Quakers shot 34.5 percent and were outrebounded by eight.
Senior Lyndsey Clark (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) led five Tigers in double figures — the most since 2008 for Wittenberg — with 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Watson added 12 points and four boards, while fellow starter Kim Replogle (Houston, Ohio/Houston) added 10 points and seven rebounds.
The other two double-figure scorers were both freshmen as Enri Small (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls) poured in 17 points, five rebounds and four assists — all collegiate-highs. Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) also was strong off the bench with 10 points and five assists.
Wittenberg, which made just 23 percent from the field in a 49-38 loss at Capital a week earlier, finished the night at 54 percent shooting from the field. It was the first time in the 2011-12 season that the Tigers hit more than 50 percent of their shots.